Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens
Series tied 1-1
Welcome back Halak
Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak returned to playoff form in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Pittsburgh in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.
Halak, who captured the hockey world’s attention with his stellar play in the Canadiens’ first-round upset of the No. 1 Washington Capitals, gave up five goals on 20 shots before being pulled in Game 1’s 6-3 loss. However, he rebounded by making 38 saves in Game 2.
“I needed to be better,” Halak told reporters following the win. “I knew that. I think the guys knew they needed to step up. And we did that tonight.”
Sunday’s performance improves Halak’s postseason numbers to a 2.68 GAA and a .931 save percentage in eight playoff games. He’s faced an average of over 36 shots per game and seems to rise to the occasion when opponents pepper him with shots. Halak is 4-0 when facing 38 or more shots this postseason.
Cooler heads prevail
Pittsburgh’s offence looked like it had ice water flowing through its veins in Game 1. The defending Stanley Cup champs scored six goals – including an empty netter late in the third period – on just 24 shots on goal.
But, with Montreal tightening up the blueline, the Penguins found little room to operate in Sunday’s 3-1 loss. Pittsburgh jumped out to an early one-goal lead in the first period but couldn’t solve the Habs defence for the remainder of the game. It wasn’t for a lack of effort. Pittsburgh fired 39 shots on goal, with 30 of those coming in the final two periods of the game.
”We expected games like this, where their goaltender plays well and their defence plays like they did,” Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma told the media. “We have to continue to go with our game plan - it’s a race to four.”
While Pittsburgh’s power play dominated in Game 1, scoring four goals with the man advantage, it was locked down Sunday. Montreal killed all three of the Pens’ power-play chances and added a goal with the man advantage, getting a power-play score from Michael Cammalleri in the second period.
The Jordan rules
Pittsburgh’s offensive stumble could have a lot to do with the injury to third-line center Jordan Staal, who suffered tendon damage on top of his left foot during Game 1 of this conference semifinal.
Staal, a towering grinder who was key in last year’s Stanley Cup run, underwent surgery Friday and is currently listed as day-to-day and is expected to return some time in the postseason.
“He’s a guy we always look to as a two-way guy and a guy who’s real tough to play against,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby told the press. “Collectively, we all have to make sure we’re better. Whoever’s playing in his absence, I don’t think they have to put pressure on themselves to be Jordan Staal, (because) he’s not an easy guy to replace.”
Penguins backers are hoping that return is sooner than later. Staal had four points in the playoffs including a goal in Game 1 before colliding with Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban midway through Friday’s game.
With Staal out of the lineup, Pittsburgh has shuffled its forward corps, putting Maxime Talbot on the third line with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. Talbot was also an important part of last year’s championship team.
“(Staal) is obviously someone really hard to replace,” Talbot told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I don’t think you can replace a guy like that. I’ll do my best to be effective and do what I can do.”
Montreal is also dealing with serious injuries. Defenceman Andrei Markov is expected to miss the rest of the postseason after suffering what is being reported as a severe knee injury in Game 1. He had three assists in the playoffs.
Trends
The Canadiens are 7-3 in their last 10 games when allowing two goals or less in their previous game.
The Penguins are 4-0 in their last four playoff road games.
The over is 4-0 in the Penguins’ last four road games.